#pecanstorm

A new surprise! The newest Gathering has revealed Aspenfrost and her Collectors attempting to act like a Clan- for what reason remains unclear.

A quiet night is shattered as the once-MeadowClanner gives a dark tale about the birds that have been haunting the Valley. This has all happened before- but something is very, very wrong.

"Well then, if no one else is gonna start," Aspenfrost meowed, standing tall on her chair. A thin line of blood went down her muzzle from Antlerstar's whack. "It's not exactly a small walk home, you know."

Brown growled low in her throat.

"No need to thank me, dear," she said with a smile. "We've come tonight in peace. I know you lot area bit leery of us, so I'm here to give you something very special."

Your surrender? Antlerstar signed.

"Your head?" Brown prompted.

"Information," Aspenfrost replied. "You Clan cats all go around thinking you're better than the riffraff of the Twolegplace. But here's what you don't get. The average kittypet lives longer than your oldest elder. They know stories about the Clans that have been wiped from your history."

She curled her tail around her paws. "And they've got one hell of a story about a flock of crows."

"It's said they came so many seasons ago, some of the trees were still lil' acorns. A chilly summer heralding more crows than mice in the forest. Odd types, y'see. Didn't caw, didn't fight for space or nothing. Just… sat along the electric whiskers. Seemed a lil' too big fer crows, but they sure as shit weren't ravens."

She licked a paw and drew it over her ear, reveling in the attention.

"That Leaf-fall, all the birds cleared out. All the birds 'sides the crows, I mean. And when Leaf-bare came, it was the worst snows any townie had ever seen. Big monsters tried to give little monsters their Thunderpaths back, but it would choke back up in days. Loners and rogues froze to death long 'fore they could consider starving." She chuckled mirthlessly. "Can you imagine freezing to death? Buncha sissies."

"Lemme guess," Brown grunted, but her voice was wobbly. "The crows just sat and watched?"

Aspenfrost smiled. "At first. 'Till they fell off the wires. One of the housecats I spoke to said that they was rotten from the inside out. It was impossible to say how long they'd been dead. One touch and they withered away like burnt weeds. So, if ask me…"

She slowly swung her head down to gesture towards Pecanstorm, currently rooted in his spot.

"Whatever those things are, he just made them more powerful. And now they're mad."

All Roles and Clans (alongside the Collective) are open!!!